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From On This Day - Australian Military History

We Remember Lieutenant David Brown, MC
Today we pause to remember the life and service of Lieutenant David Richmond Brown, who enlisted on the 18th of September 1914. He would go on to be awarded the Military Cross for his bravery during fighting at Pozieres on the 18th of August 1916.

Originally from Sydney, New South Wales, Brown entered the Royal Military College on 22 June 1911 in the first intake of cadets and was a member of the Honour Guard at the naming ceremony in Canberra on 12 March 1913. His class was graduated early on 14 August 1914 and Brown was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 4th Battalion Machine Gun Section.

He landed on Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and was wounded in the neck and shoulder at Johnston's Jolly in mid May. According to Bean, Brown was in the fourth wave of the 4th Battalion at the beginning of the Battle of Lone Pine on 6 August 1915. His gun was the only one of four to reach the Turkish trenches and he set it up at the end of Sasse's Sap where it could be fired down a communication trench packed with Turks. The presence of the machine gun encouraged the Australians in the Turkish trenches but it also attracted enemy fire. Shrapnel burst over the spot, disabling the machine gun and wounding Brown in the thigh. He was evacuated to England for treatment and promoted to Captain.

Brown rejoined the 4th Battalion in Egypt in early 1916 and arrived in France at the end of March 1916. Promoted to the rank of Major just before the Battle of the Somme, Brown commanded a Company of the 4th Battalion at Pozières, leading his men up K Trench, bombing towards the cemetery on 25 July 1916. He was awarded the Military Cross for his actions on 18-19 August 1916 at Mouquet Farm near Pozières when he and his men captured a German strongpoint known as Point 55. Despite counter attacks and the lack of bombs, Brown held his position.

He was Mentioned in Despatches for his work during the period 22 September 1917 to 24 February 1918 when the 4th Battalion was involved in fighting near Ypres and Broodseinde. He was then appointed as Commanding Officer of the 1st Training Battalion in England for the remainder of the war.

He returned to Australia in April 1919 and his appointment was terminated in July 1919. He later trained as a doctor and served in World War 2 as a Lieutenant Colonel with the Australian Army Medical Corps. He died on 17 July 1956 in Sydney.

News has been received that Major D. K. Brown, an old Fort Street boy, has been awarded the Military Cross. Major Brown, who was a Duntroon College cadet, left Sydney shortly  after the outbreak of the war as lieutenant in charge of a machine gun section. He took part in the landing at Gallipoli, and was subsequently twice wounded, the second time badly.  On recovery he was sent to France, and at Pozieres earned the Military Cross.